Harris v. Best Buy Stores, L.P.

Filing 28

STIPULATED PROTECTIVE ORDER. Signed by Magistrate Judge Brian K. Epps on 6/19/15. (cmr)

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF GEORGIA
DUBLIN DIVISION
JIMMY HARRIS,
Plaintiff,
v.
BEST BUY WAREHOUSING
LOGISTICS, INC.,
Defendant.

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No. 3:14-CV-00151-DHB-BKE

STIPULATED PROTECTIVE ORDER
Plaintiff JIMMY HARRIS and Defendant BEST BUY WAREHOUSING
LOGISTICS, INC. (“Best Buy”), having consented through their respective counsel for the entry
of this Stipulated Protective Order, pursuant to Rule 26(c) of the Federal Rules of Civil
Procedure, in order to protect the confidentiality of certain information and to facilitate
discovery, IT IS HEREBY ORDERED THAT:
1.

This Stipulated Protective Order shall remain in effect for the duration of this

action, unless otherwise ordered by the Court or agreed by the parties.
2.

The purpose of this Stipulated Protective Order is to protect against the

unnecessary disclosure of confidential information. Information and documents protected by this
Stipulated Protective Order shall include:
a.

All information and documents produced by Best Buy in this action that refer to,
reflect upon, or relate to: (i) any current or former employee of Best Buy other
than Plaintiff, including, but not limited to, documents contained in such
employees’ personnel and medical files and Best Buy’s Human Resources

Department files; or (ii) trade secrets or other confidential proprietary technical,
business, or financial information which is not generally known to the public;
b.

Any other commercially sensitive information and documents that are not readily
available to the public through legitimate origins or testimony that are in good
faith designated as “Confidential”;

c.

Plaintiff’s medical file and any other medical information pertaining to Plaintiff;
and

d.

Any other documents or testimony that a party in good faith designates as
“confidential.”

The information and documents protected by this Stipulated Protective Order shall be
referred to as “Confidential Materials.” The restrictions contained herein regarding disclosure of
Confidential Materials also apply with equal force to any copies, excerpts, analyses, or
summaries of such materials or the information contained therein, as well as to any pleadings,
memoranda, briefs, exhibits, transcripts, or other documents that may be prepared in connection
with this action that contain or refer to the Confidential Materials or information contained
therein.
3.

“Disclosure” or “to disclose” shall mean to divulge, reveal, describe, summarize,

paraphrase, quote, transmit, or otherwise provide or communicate to any person or entity the
Confidential Materials, whether pursuant to request, interrogatory, process, or otherwise, and
whether in accordance with the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure or otherwise.
4.

Confidential Materials shall be used solely for the purpose of this action, shall not

be used for any other business, competitive or other purpose, and shall not be disclosed to any
other person or entity other than:

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a.

The parties in this action;

b.

In-house and outside counsel for the parties in this action, including paralegals,
administrative assistants, and other employees of such counsel to the extent
necessary to render professional services in this action;

c.

The Court and persons employed by the Court working on this action;

d.

Court reporters at the proceedings in this action;

e.

Experts or consultants retained or consulted by the parties in connection with this
action, but only as set out in Paragraph 5 below; and

f.

Deponents, trial witnesses, and potential witnesses in connection with this action,
but only as set out in Paragraph 5 below.

5.

Prior to making the disclosure of any Confidential Materials, pursuant to

subsections e. and f. of Paragraph 4, counsel making such disclosure shall inform any person to
whom disclosure is being made that the information or documents to be disclosed, or any
portions thereof, may be used only for the purposes set forth in this Stipulated Protective Order.
In addition, such persons shall state their consent in writing (in the form of an Acknowledgment
attached hereto as Exhibit “A”) to be bound by the terms of this Stipulated Protective Order. The
signed Acknowledgment forms will be mailed by counsel to opposing counsel immediately upon
execution.
6.

In the event that any Confidential Materials are referred to or used in the

deposition of any person initiated by any party, the parties’ counsel shall have the option, during
the deposition or within fourteen (14) days after the deposition, to require the reporter to prepare
the transcript and exhibits as “Confidential.” Such transcripts, exhibits, and the information
contained therein shall remain protected under this Stipulated Protective Order regardless of

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whether the parties’ counsel exercises the option provided by this paragraph. Moreover, the
parties may, at the deposition or within fourteen (14) days after receiving a copy of the
deposition transcripts, designate deposition testimony or portions thereof as “Confidential.”
7.

This Stipulated Protective Order does not limit the right of any party to object to

the scope of discovery or to any particular discovery request in this action.
8.

Upon request by the producing party, within thirty (30) days of the conclusion of

this action as to all parties, Confidential Materials produced by the producing party, as well as all
copies, excerpts, or summaries thereof, shall be returned to the producing party. In the event
counsel possesses attorney work product containing or referring to Confidential Materials, such
attorney work product shall remain subject to the restrictions set forth in Paragraph 4 above or in
the alternative may be destroyed.
9.

Nothing in this Stipulated Protective Order shall prevent a party from any use of

its own Confidential Materials. Moreover, nothing in this Stipulated Protective Order shall limit
the right of the parties to use Confidential Materials for purposes of this action, including in any
pleadings, memoranda, briefs, exhibits, or other documents that may be prepared in connection
with this action. In the event Confidential Materials are included in any paper filed with the
Court, such paper shall be filed under seal, redacted or as otherwise agreed to by the parties, or
as otherwise ordered by the Court. Prior to filing any confidential documents under seal, the
filing party shall seek leave from the Court to file such documents under seal for good cause
shown.
10.

The inadvertent or unintentional disclosure of any Confidential Materials shall not

be construed to be a waiver, in whole or part, of any party’s claim of confidentiality, either as to
the specific Confidential Material disclosed or as to other related information.

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11.

Any party may apply to the Court for relief from this Stipulated Protective Order.

The party seeking relief from this Stipulated Protective Order shall specify which information
designated as “Confidential” by the opposing party it wishes to disclose outside the confines of
this action and the purpose for which and the manner in which it seeks to disclose the
information. No party shall disclose any information designated as “Confidential” by an
opposing party without the written consent of the opposing party or the express permission of the
Court.
12.

Before seeking relief from the Court due to an alleged violation of this Stipulated

Protective Order, the party seeking relief will attempt to resolve the matter by agreement with the
other party.
13.

The terms of this Stipulated Protective Order are subject to modification,

extension, or limitation as may be hereinafter agreed to by all parties, or by order of the Court.
14.

The Court retains the right to allow disclosure of any subject covered by this

Stipulated Protective Order or to modify this Stipulated Protective Order at any time in the
interest of justice.
15.

Any violation of the terms of this Stipulated Protective Order may, in the

discretion of the Court, be found to constitute contempt and may result in sanctions to be fixed
by the Court in its discretion.

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STIPULATED AND ACCEPTED:

BEST BUY WAREHOUSING LOGISTICS,
INC.

JIMMY HARRIS

By s/ Erin McPhail Wetty
Erin McPhail Wetty
Georgia Bar No. 165259
[e-mail]
SEYFARTH SHAW LLP
1075 Peachtree Street, N.E.
Suite 2500
Atlanta, Georgia 30309-3962
Telephone: [phone]
Facsimile: [phone]

By s/ Jamie G. Miller
Jamie G. Miller
Georgia Bar No. 507159
[e-mail]
EVANS, SCHOLZ, WILLIAMS
& WARNCKE, LLC
3490 Piedmont Road NE
Suite 1200 One Securities Centre
Atlanta, Georgia 30305
Telephone: [phone]
Facsimile: [phone]

Lynn Kappelman* (*admitted pro hac
vice)
Massachusetts Bar No. 642017
[e-mail]
SEYFARTH SHAW LLP
2 Seaport Lane
Suite 300
Boston, Massachusetts 02210
Telephone: [phone]
Facsimile: [phone]

Date Submitted: June 18, 2015

SO ORDERED this 19th day of June, 2015, at Augusta, Georgia.

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF GEORGIA
DUBLIN DIVISION
JIMMY HARRIS,
Plaintiff,
v.
BEST BUY WAREHOUSING
LOGISTICS, INC.,
Defendant.

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No. 3:14-CV-00151-DHB-BKE

ACKNOWLEDGMENT
I, ____________________, hereby acknowledge that I have read the Stipulated
Protective Order entered by the Court on ___________, 2015 in connection with the abovecaptioned action and am familiar with its terms.
The undersigned further acknowledges that he/she fully understands the provisions of the
Stipulated Protective Order, agrees to be bound by those provisions, and has been apprised of the
possible penalties attendant upon a violation of any of those provisions, including but not limited
to being held in contempt.
This ____ day of ___________, 2015.

____________________________

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